Please help me make garage sound quieter

[Rocuronium]

So I just got my Skytrak and went down to the garage to try it out. Hitting real balls in the garage seemed really loud and then about 2 minutes in I get a text from wife about how loud it is upstairs with the kids sleeping.
So, I need your help to make something to help dampen the sound. It's not coming from the screen, it's definitely coming from hitting the ball. Sound proofing the whole garage isn't really an option as I still need my garage to look nice and function for other purposes.
I was thinking of making some kind of enclosure around where Im hitting to help dampen the sound. I could hang it from the ceiling on a wire rope/pole and slide it to the side like a shower curtain or something that I can easily take down after my session.
Any thoughts or ideas on material that could help dampen the sound?
Thanks

[mthunt]

An easy solution is use almost balls when the kids are sleeping. To soundproof the room you'll need extra drywall, roxul and resilient channel.

[Bubba22]

I tend to agree with mthunt.

[Gamble Gamble]

i had this problem but spoke with some people and I am laying rubber garage flooring. Next I am insulating the garage door with a foam substance that will absorb some sound and then finally if it is still louder than needed I am going to use acoustic foam wall panels.

The rubber flooring and the foam should dampen it enough, if not the acoustic foam may run you between 100 and 500 depending on how much you use but it is a fixable problem. The main culprit is concrete flooring typically.

[Gamble Gamble]

side note: garage flooring is expensive but if you get the 9x44' roll you can cover the entire garage for less than 600. Not to mention it also looks nicer than concrete.

[aja]

mthunt got it right - the sound is going upstairs. You are putting sound deadening material everywhere else, but not on the ceiling. He is suggesting building a floating drywall ceiling. That's the best bet other than Almost balls. Choosing the Almost balls is the cheapest option.

[Gamble Gamble]

foam on the ceiling will not work? Also does the GC2/ST read the foam balls the same way or will it also show 1/3 distances like they fly in the backyard?

[Rocuronium]

Thanks for all the replies and ideas. I ordered some almost balls last night and will see how that goes. Also been looking into acoustic foam panels and trying to see if I can make some kind of semi portable enclosure.

[Vincent_Vega]

Here is a pretty good link for cheap sound reducing foam. You could line the ceiling with it and help dampen it some.

http://www.foambymail.com/AW1/acoustical-1-wedge-foam.html

[mthunt]

The almost balls are about 10% less on the gc2 imo.

[Daddio]

IMHO I think you may be fighting a losing battle.
We have ours in our shop and the office is 2 rooms away with one of them having a 10" thick concrete block wall.
I was sitting in the office and could hear one of my friends hitting balls.
We use the Almost Golf balls and love them for this purpose, I also use them for practice in our yard, they go about 40-50 % less than a real ball.
Like I said just my opinion.
Another option maybe to try hanging some furniture pads.
How many of you guys use Almost Golf balls as opposed to real balls?

[mthunt]

I hate them but the initial velocity is still strong then they seem to fall out of the sky. I tested them and found they went 90% in that small,distance captured by the gc2. I don't like the feel. It feels like you hit nothing.

[Joko]

I'm in the garage and couldn't imagine a scenario working that didn't create a lot of noise for the rest of the home. So I'm told by my wife.

It's fine with shorter clubs during quieter times, driver is way too loud though, with real balls. Almost golf balls work fine for practice during these times, but obviously wouldn't work well doing full sim.

My solution? Buy a new/build a new house. Or seriously revamp the garage for soundproofing which seems like a wasted cost, although if that's your only choice then maybe it's worth it, if you plan on staying there for 15+ more years, because you won't get that money back when you sell it. I've been struggling with this same situation, would love to have a dedicated room but it's just not possible without moving.

[Joko]

I will add that my main concern is heating and cooling. Even that is going to cost a pretty penny and won't add much resale value. ah well, first world problems right?

[rdh]

Is it the sound of the driver connecting with the ball that is the problem, of the ball hitting the screen? Or both?


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[Joko]

For me it's the sound with driver hitting ball, and the concrete floors and larger open space that make it louder.

[Mxwoodman]

Not sure how much sound goes through the concrete floors - but bass and bass drums at that low frequency do travel through the walls and floors.
The sound that travels the most in the sim and is the lowest frequency and the hardest to contain is the ball impacting the screen and the material used for the screen makes a difference.
You can get away with sound proofing material (foam, sound board and air space) to a point
But in the end it costs a lot to do and I would just go with almost golf balls

[fortysixandtwo]

For those using almost golf balls, I want to use them with my little ones until they get comfortable hitting real balls indoors. What kind of boost do you add?